Harmonix Probing Interest in ‘Rock Band’ Sequel with Latest Survey

The once booming music-based video game genre seemingly went the way of the dinosaurs quite some time ago. Gamers eventually got fed up with annual releases of multiple plastic instrument-fueled games and the entire genre was quickly shelved in order for demand to once again be generated for more music games.

Fast forward to 2014 and it appears that Harmonix is now testing the waters to see whether or not consumers would be open to a new installment of the beloved Rock Band franchise.

Recently the company has begun sending out surveys to gauge interest in a potential followup to the once Ã¼ber popular franchise. While the brief survey falls short of directly confirming plans to resurrect Rock Band for the masses (as well as whether or not there are any new gameplay mechanics being mulled over), it does indicate that a new iteration of the series is being heavily pondered over at the studio.

What could be considered the best part of all to many who’ve taken the plunge and invested in a current generation console is that the survey seems to indicate that the Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U are three platforms that could be hit with any future Rock Band titles. Of course, the official inquiry-based compendium also asks if gamers would be interested in seeing a new game pop-up on “Legacy” consoles (i.e. Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii), so those who’ve yet to upgrade could also be on the receiving end of future plans for the series.

Harmonix is thinking through a few different options for its beloved Rock Band property.

The Rock Band franchise last reared its head in 2012 under the guise of a petite downloadable game called Rock Band Blitz, but it’s been nearly four years since the last major installment of the property. Whether or not Harmonix gets to work on a Rock Band 4 after it wraps up development of its Kinect-exclusive music title, Fantasia: Music Evolved, remains to be seen, but it appears that the developer’s interest in resurrecting the 4-player band sim is beginning to manifest itself in a more prominent fashion.

For now, however, this editor believes that it may be time to once again sit down with a roomful of friends and pluck away on some fictitious guitar strings — or at least it will be if Harmonix gets some solid responses to its latest survey.

Do you think it’s time for Harmonix to resurrect Rock Band on current platforms? Be sure to rock out a response in the comments below.